St. Gobnait – Patron Saint of Bees and Beekeepers The tall statue pictured above is of St. Gobnait in southwest Ireland (erected in the 1950s). She appears with a nun’s habit standing on a bee hive surrounded by bees. [Featured art by sleekitbeastie]

“Saint Gobnait’s Day is Feb 11th is still celebrated by the community of Ballyvourney, in County Cork. During a Mass at the well, everyone takes water from it.

Gobnait (Gobnet, Gobhnet, Gobnaid, Gobnata, or Gobnatae), was born in County Clare, Ireland, sometime in the 5th or 6th century. Gobnait is Irish for Abigail (“Brings Joy”). As the patron saint of beekeepers, her name also has been anglicized as Deborah, meaning ‘Honey Bee’…

One of the miracles attributed to Saint Gobnait was that she protected a parish by unleashing a swarm of bees… She had a strong relationship with bees and used the properties of honey in the treatment of illness and healing of wounds.”

BEES RESCUED FROM:Hive #1 (The Warrior Girls): old garage/barn structure in Woodland Hills.
Hive #2 (The Mische Girls): upside down large pot in Northridge and a small citrus tree at the LA Times building.

The small book Love in the Garden by Jean-Pierre Otte, contains a splendid eight-page poetical fantasy called “The Astonishing Deception of the Bee Orchid.” After reading it and learning how the bee orients herself through smell and gathers nectar to make an alchemical potion, I was quite keen on using the honey bee as part of the branding for my botanical perfume company.

A few years later we witnessed a swarm arrive at the compost bin outside our studio, which started us on the path of urban beekeeping. The French bee historian Yvon Achard says, “Beekeepers are chosen by bees.” Indeed! We now have two active hives on our property.

For Roxana Illuminated Perfume I create concept-driven fragrances, many of which have a call to social action. To Bee is a fragrance I created using aromatic extracts from extra combs from bee rescues. The perfume is named after the soliloquy from Hamlet “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

“Bees…by virtue of a certain geometrical forethought…know that the hexagon is greater than the square and the triangle, and will hold more honey for the same expenditure of material. — Pappus of Alexandria

Bees have not studied tessellations theory. However, some of their behavior patterns can be explained mathematically. One such phenomena which mother nature instilled in the bee is the nature to use the least expenditure of energy and materials. The bees somehow know that the square, the triangle and the hexagon are the only three self-tessellating regular polygons. Of the three, the hexagon has the smallest perimeter for a given area. So, when bees are constructing hexagonal prism cells in the hive, they use less wax and do less work to enclose the same space than if tessellating space with prisms of square or triangular bases. The honeycomb walls are made up of cells which are 1/80 of an inch thick, yet can support 30 times their own weight. A honeycomb of 14.5”x8.8” can hold more than five pounds of honey. That also explains why they are so heavy. The bees are creating hexagonal prisms in three rhombic sections, and the walls of the cell meet at exactly 120 degree angles. What is even more amazing, is the fact that the bees work simultaneously on different sections forming a comb with no visible seams. It is built vertically downward, and the bees use parts of their bodies as measuring instruments. In fact, their heads act as plummets.”

“Campaigners say the conclusion by the European Food Safety Authority is a ‘death knell’ for neonicotinoid pesticides

The world’s most widely used insecticide has for the first time been officially labelled an “unacceptable” danger to bees feeding on flowering crops. Environmental campaigners say the conclusion, by Europe’s leading food safety authority, sounds the “death knell” for the insect nerve agent…

Bees and other pollinators are critical to one-third of all food, but two major studies in March 2012, and others since, have implicated neonicotinoid pesticides in the decline in the insects, alongside habitat loss and disease. In April, the European commission demanded a re-examination of the risks posed by the chemicals, including Bayer’s widely used imidacloprid and two others…

“This is a major turning point in the battle to save our bees,” said Friends of the Earth’s Andrew Pendleton: ‘EFSA have sounded the death knell for one of the chemicals most frequently linked to bee decline and cast serious doubt over the safety of the whole neonicotinoid family. Ministers must wake up to the fact that these chemicals come with an enormous sting in the tail by immediately suspending the use of these pesticides.’”

recent blog posts

Why “Urban” Beekeeping?

We at HoneyLove believe that the city is the last refuge of the honeybee. Our home gardens are generally free of pesticides, and in cities like Los Angeles, there is year-round availability of pollen and nectar for the honeybees!

how can you help?

Become a member of HoneyLove and learn to be an urban beekeeper!

Plant an organic garden without the pesticides that harm honeybees!

Provide a water source on your property – bees love clean water to drink!